BILL NUMBER: AJR 49	CHAPTERED  09/18/00

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER   151
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   SEPTEMBER 18, 2000
	ADOPTED IN SENATE   AUGUST 31, 2000
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 30, 2000

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Bock
   (Coauthor:  Assembly Member Cedillo)

                        FEBRUARY 25, 2000

   Assembly Joint Resolution No. 49--Relative to Filipino veterans.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AJR 49, Bock.  Filipino veterans of the United States Armed
Forces:  full benefits.
   This measure would memorialize the President and the Congress of
the United States during the Second Session of the 106th Congress to
take action necessary to grant full veterans benefits to Filipino
veterans of the United States Armed Forces.




   WHEREAS, The Philippine Islands, as a result of the
Spanish-American War, were a possession of the United States between
1898 and 1946; and
   WHEREAS, In 1934, the Philippine Independence Act (P.L. 73-127)
set a 10-year timetable for the eventual independence of the
Philippines and in the interim established a government of the
Commonwealth of the Philippines with certain powers over its own
internal affairs; and
   WHEREAS, The granting of full independence ultimately was delayed
for two years until 1946 because of the Japanese occupation of the
islands from 1942 to 1945; and
   WHEREAS, Between 1934 and the final independence of the Philippine
Islands in 1946, the United States retained certain sovereign powers
over the Philippines, including the right, upon order of the
President of the United States, to call into the service of the
United States Armed Forces all military forces organized by the
Commonwealth government; and
   WHEREAS, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, by Executive Order of
July 26, 1941, brought the Philippine Commonwealth Army into the
service of the United States Armed Forces of the Far East under the
command of Lieutenant General Douglas MacArthur; and
   WHEREAS, Under the Executive Order of July 26, 1941, Filipinos
were entitled to full veterans benefits; and
   WHEREAS, Approximately 200,000 Filipino soldiers, driven by a
sense of honor and dignity, battled under the United States Command
after 1941 to preserve our liberty; and
   WHEREAS, There are four groups of Filipino nationals who are
entitled to all or some of the benefits to which United States
veterans are entitled.  These are:
   (1) Filipinos who served in the regular components of the United
States Armed Forces.
   (2) Regular Philippine Scouts, called "Old Scouts," who enlisted
in Filipino-manned units of the United States Army prior to October
6, 1945.  Prior to World War II, these troops assisted in the
maintenance of domestic order in the Philippines and served as a
combat-ready force to defend the islands against foreign invasion,
and during the war, they participated in the defense and retaking of
the islands from Japanese occupation.
   (3) Special Philippine Scouts, called "New Scouts," who enlisted
in the United States Armed Forces between October 6, 1945, and June
30, 1947, primarily to perform occupation duty in the Pacific
following World War II.
   (4) Members of the Philippine Commonwealth Army who on July 26,
1941, were called into the service of the United States Armed Forces.
  This group includes organized guerrilla resistance units that were
recognized by the United States Army; and
   WHEREAS, The first two groups, Filipinos who served in the regular
components of the United States Armed Forces and Old Scouts, are
considered United States veterans and are generally entitled to the
full range of United States veterans benefits; and
   WHEREAS, The other two groups, New Scouts and members of the
Philippine Commonwealth Army, are eligible for certain veterans
benefits, some of which are lower than full veterans benefits; and
   WHEREAS, United States veterans medical benefits for the four
groups of Filipino veterans vary depending upon whether the person
resides in the United States or the Philippines; and
   WHEREAS, The eligibility of Old Scouts for benefits based on
military service in the United States Armed Forces has long been
established; and
   WHEREAS, The federal Department of Veterans Affairs operates a
comprehensive program of veterans benefits in the present government
of the Republic of the Philippines, including the operation of a
federal Department of Veterans Affairs office in Manila; and
   WHEREAS, The federal Department of Veterans Affairs does not
operate a program of this type in any other country; and
   WHEREAS, The program in the Philippines evolved because the
Philippine Islands were a United States possession during the period
1898-1946, and many Filipinos have served in the United States Armed
Forces, and because the preindependence Philippine Commonwealth Army
was called into the service of the United States Armed Forces during
World War II (1941-1945); and
   WHEREAS, Our nation has failed to meet the promises made to those
Filipino soldiers who fought as American soldiers during World War
II; and
   WHEREAS, The Congress passed legislation in 1946 limiting and
precluding Filipino veterans that fought in the service of the United
States during World War II from receiving most veterans benefits
that were available to them before 1946; and
   WHEREAS, Many Filipino veterans have been unfairly treated by the
classification of their service as not being service rendered in the
United States Armed Forces for purposes of benefits from the federal
Department of Veterans Affairs; and
   WHEREAS, All other nationals who served in the United States Armed
Forces have been recognized and granted full rights and benefits,
but the Filipinos, as American nationals at the time of service, were
and still are denied recognition and singled out for exclusion, and
this treatment is unfair and discriminatory; and
   WHEREAS, On October 20, 1996, President Clinton issued a
proclamation honoring the nearly 100,000 Filipino veterans of World
War II, soldiers of the Philippine Commonwealth Army, who fought as a
component of the United States Armed Forces alongside allied forces
for four long years to defend and reclaim the Philippine Islands, and
thousands more who joined the United States Armed Forces after the
war; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly and Senate of the State of California,
jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California respectfully
memorializes the President and the Congress of the United States
during the Second Session of the 106th Congress to take action
necessary to honor our country's moral obligation to provide these
Filipino veterans with the military benefits that they deserve,
including, but not limited to, holding related hearings, and acting
favorably on legislation pertaining to granting full veterans
benefits to Filipino veterans of the United States Armed Forces; and
be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the President and the Vice President of the United
States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and to each
Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the
United States.
